Quick answer: Toretto Transport delivers materials to upper floors across Adelaide using large Manitou telehandlers. Benchtops, fridges, windows, plasterboard, pallets and construction material: lifted and placed on the level, not carried up the stairs. For a lot of jobs, a telehandler reaches where a crane can’t, and it’s set up and moving before the crane’s even parked.
Second storey, first problem
Getting heavy material to an upper floor is one of the most awkward jobs on any site. The old way, carrying it up the scaffold by hand, is slow, it’s risky, and it burns your crew’s energy before they’ve even picked up a tool.
We do it differently. Our large Manitou telehandlers lift material straight up and place it exactly where it needs to go. Plasterboard, fridges, stone benchtops, windows, construction material: if it needs to go up, we get it up.
When the crane can’t get in
One of our benchtop customers used to run their deliveries with another transport supplier in Adelaide. A reliable company, with cranes only. But on one site the truck couldn’t do the job at all. Power lines ran straight across the access point, and a crane simply couldn’t get in.
The other supplier’s own team said it straight: “Have you considered a telehandler? Toretto Transport have one.” So the customer called us to book it in, and they were nervous. Understandably. Benchtops are expensive, and they’re the final piece in one of the most important rooms in the house.
Our operator met them on site, prepped the benchtop with protective coverings, and lifted it up and over the balustrade without slings. That’s the part that matters: no slings means no swing. The installers didn’t have to fight a moving load at height, they just had to slide it into place.
The feedback to us was that they couldn’t believe how quick it was, and how much easier it made everything. The office was happy, the installers on site were happy, and that first nervous booking turned into a regular one. These days, that customer’s go to for upper floor deliveries is the telehandler. We run a spotter on site for every lift, and those benchtops – the crowning glory of any kitchen – land safely in position every time.
Telehandler vs crane, which do you actually need?
Most people’s first instinct for anything up high is “get a crane.” Often that’s not what the job needs. A telehandler sets up faster, it moves around a tight site far more easily, and it can manoeuvre through obstacles a crane truck simply can’t line up on: over a balcony, around power lines, into the gap between two buildings. For a lot of upper floor deliveries, it’s the better tool for the job, and it’s the cheaper one too.
That’s the call worth making before you book anything. Do you need the reach of a crane, or something that can actually get in there and work the site? Nine times out of ten on a second storey job, it’s the tele
handler.
“If it’s awkward, we’re up for it”
When we say no job’s off limits, we mean it. We’ve lifted fridges through second storey windows. We’ve placed stone benchtops onto upper floors without a scratch on them. And yes, we’ve even carried fibreglass pools. If it’s big, it’s awkward, and everyone else has said no, that’s exactly the job we want. We’re always up for a challenge.
Ten years on, that’s still what drives us: reliable deliveries for South Australian builders, whatever the job throws at us.
Plasterboard is still where we spend most of our time, and ten years in we’ve got it down to a science. We’re currently running plasterboard lifts for Xavier College, and it’s the same story wherever there’s a multi residential build going up: apartments, townhouses, anything stacking floors. St Peter’s College and Westminster School are both on the books too. Feels like it’s shaping up to be a season for school upgrades across Adelaide, and builders on those sites know exactly what they’re getting when they call us.
Why builders choose Toretto for upper floor work
Large Manitou telehandlers, reaching where cranes can’t
Plasterboard, fridges, benchtops, windows, construction material: lifted and placed
Attachments for nearly any load
Manoeuvres tight sites, balconies and obstacles with ease
Faster setup, often cheaper than a crane
Adelaide owned since 2016
Whether it’s plasterboard for a school build or a benchtop that has to land without a scratch, our Manitou telehandlers and crews handle upper floor material delivery across Adelaide and SA every week. Have a look at how we run upper floor delivery for more on the process.